The re:DESIGN community I run on Google Plus has some of the most diverse, inspiring conversation I’ve yet to encounter on the web. It’s a place for business people, marketing folks, communications pros, entrepreneurs and anyone who values what good design and branding can do for business — or for anyone who just wants to learn more about how the other side thinks.

All in all, it’s been a lot of fun and I thought I’d share some of the top posts from the Summer with you here. Just click on each point below to be whisked away to the original post in the community, where you can also access the link to the article that inspired the post. Please be sure to check out the lively dialog in the comments because that’s where the magic really happens in any successful online community.

And while you’re there, circle the people who posted these excellent tid-bits of creative exploration — their names are also linked below.

BBDO created a font that combines braille with the alphabet people to bond through reading, unlike they’ve ever been able to before. The Storybook for All Eyes also includes illustrations embossed with hidden images for the visually impaired to discover. A fascinating discussion developed in the comments about how a universal design approach can be used to help everyone regardless of ability, age and lifestyle while promoting beauty, independence and dignity.

Kate turned an offbeat contest by The Humane Society where they had primates paint on canvases into a discussion about how unlimited freedom is not always best for bringing out the artist in the beast. Or in people.

The article referenced from the NY Times talks about how visuals are by themselves becoming a new way of communicating, as they fit the mobile revolution perfectly. This led to lively discussion about the pros and cons of communicating through text vs. images, how we can strike the right balance and where it’s all going.

Ever feel frustrated by the most simple of documents that seems so easy to remedy yet remains totally confusing, unhelpful and entirely wasteful, year after year? This post confronts that issue square on the nose — as well as our eyes and brains, for that matter.

Rayna shares this excellent video that sums up the “creative predicament” and parodies how designers are so often treated. The video is effective by showing how ludicrous those same interactions appear when applied to other industries and professions. This led to us trying to discover why this happens, what we can do about it, and some good laughs along the way.

We had fun visiting this fun, purely visual site that lets you explore color and matchups in a very intuitive way. It then also provides the color formulas for each, making it easy to use the colors for projects later.

This will amaze you — which direction does the spinning lady move for you? Can you make her change direction? I thought I was being tricked at first, because I couldn’t imagine her ever moving a different way. Then when I looked back, she switched! The brain is an amazing thing.

Is making data look cool enough or should information design be more? Most of us in the re:DESIGN community believe that it should be so much more — not just creating a graphic with information, but illuminating information in a way that numbers and text cannot alone. Design should clarify, never obscure.

What started as a discussion about the new Yahoo logo and how they were rolling out the new branding, evolved into a larger discussion about their strategic goals and debate over the wisdom of having CEO Marissa Mayer pose seductively on the cover of Vogue. Then when the final logo was revealed, all hell broke loose.

A seemingly innocuous post about this term turned into a discussion about its definition, debate about what it means and a better understanding about how little we really know about it. This then inspired a Google Hangout where several of us took the issue further on a live video chat (and many of us hearing each other’s voices for the first time as well!).

A poignant question about a medium that is all but forgotten in so many of these online forums. Surprisingly, the discussion actually led to a pretty quick consensus that print matters — perhaps even more than ever — depending on how it’s done.

As I hope you can see, this community is a blast and often what starts out as one thing, ends up being a discussion about something entirely different — much as the inner workings of the creative process itself.

Did you learn something from these posts and did any of them spark your own thinking and imagination? Let me know in the comments.

Paul Biedermann is Creative Director/Owner of re:DESIGN and Managing Partner/Editor-in-Chief of 12 Most. re:DESIGN specializes in Strategic Design, Brand Identity, and Visual Content Marketing. Paul intersects smart, custom design with visual business strategies that reach, engage, and inspire people to action. He also founded the vibrant re:DESIGN Google+ community for those who value what good design can do for business, and served on the Board of Directors of the Social Media Association. Paul began his career at ABC Broadcasting before moving to a design agency that created innovative campaigns for ESPN and then becoming Art Director for NFL Properties. As Creative Director for The McGraw-Hill Companies, Paul spearheaded projects for such leading brands as Standard & Poor’s, BusinessWeek, J.D. Power and Associates, Architectural Record, and McGraw-Hill Education. You can follow Paul on Twitter, "Like" re:DESIGN on Facebook, circle him on Google+, follow him on Pinterest or visit his blog.